Sweet Dreams
by Starlight in Twilight
Summary: Rose awakens one night, a nightmare still clinging to her mind.


Title: Sweet Dreams

Author: Winter Crucification

Rating: PG, for just a tad bit of violence.

Inspiration: Tori Amos's "Sweet Dreams", and my own tendency to conjure up random Rose situations. (Yes, I am such a total fangirl that she will pop into my head for no apparent reason)

Disclaimer: Wow, I hate these. I don't own the characters or LoD, but the concept of the orphanage and the camping trip is mine, okay? I don't care if you steal the concepts for yourself, whatever, but my writing is my writing - steal, and you DIE.

_I don't know how you can have swee-ee-eet dreams..._

_-Tori Amos, "Sweet Dreams"_

Rose sat bolt upright, the rough cheap-inn sheets falling away from her barely clothed body while her shoulders heaved in a rare moment of total panic. With the slightest of shudders, she pushed sweat-damp ebony hair from her face in an attempt to calm herself.

Waking up after being in the grip of a horrible nightmare wasn't all that uncommon to the warrioress, especially after having killed the Moon Child. Even five thousand years wasn't enough to completely strip away her humanity, just encase it in a glacier. Frowning slightly, she shook her head to dispel the unsettling thoughts in her mind - remnants of the visions that had paraded in front of her mind. _Necessary. _She, more than anyone, knew that all too well. 

Without warning, a memory, long buried, sprang to mind.

--

They had been camping. CAMPING! Only just out of sight of the orphanage, but to a quartet of adventurous preteens, it had been a very rare treat indeed. 

Rose was ten, Zieg and Shirley were eleven, and Belzac was a very old - almost ancient - thirteen. 

Belzac was an accomplished gatherer with skill at picking out edible plants, though with his size, he was a horrible tracker and hunter, so he left that aspect to Rose and Shirley, and Zieg fished. The trio planned to stay forever (or a week, which is close) so they were quite well prepared. 

Leave it to Zieg to burn the fish beyond all recognition. Fortunately, Belzac was a better cook than his two companions, so the three wandered off to their sleeping bags in the two small tents that they had pitched earlier with stomachs full of pheasant stew, thanks to Shirley.

Unfortunately, neither tent was large enough to contain both Belzac and Zieg comfortably, so Rose had ended up bunking with the blond, while Shirley slept in the same tent as Belzac. A small smile crept across the girl's face - she would HAVE to tease the two about that later. 

Rose curled up like a cat on her pallet, tugging the blanket over her shoulders and under her chin, but it wasn't the same as having someone else tuck her in. Maybe it was that lack that made her dream what she did, or maybe it was because there were rocks digging into her sides, or maybe it was just the chilly Northern weather. 

The crack of a whip sounded in her mind, and her body responded accordingly, the pain a mix of not-so-far-off memories and an overactive imagination. Behind her eyelashes flashed images of pain and blood, the only things she had ever known before being "freed" at the age of eight. Small shivers wracked her body, until a hand shook her shoulder, and a familiar voice called her name, called her back from the memories. "Rose, wake up. C'mon, wake up."

Startlingly blue eyes gazed at her from below a golden-tanned brow, creased with worry. Zieg, of course. Who else? "Hey, Snow White...Nightmare?"

The dark-haired girl ignored the pet name for the moment - she was NOT some silly little princess - and nodded miserably. 

Strong arms wrapping around her slim form, the two just sat there, seeking refuge from the horrible memories. After a little while, Rose glanced up and mumbled, "Thanks."

A grin. He was SO goofy. "Yeah, well, anytime. Just as long as you promise to return the favor sometime..."

She giggled and nodded. "Okay. I'll do that."

Letting her go, the blond boy shrugged and smiled, murmured goodnight, and went back to his own pallet.

Rose snuggled back down into her own and fell instantly asleep. This time...she had sweet dreams.

--

Sighing, the woman that the little girl had become rested her chin on her hands and closed her eyes, savoring the memory, for it would surely slip between her fingers by the time she next awoke. _Times really do change_, she thought, and shook her head. Maybe...maybe that was when she started loving him. Maybe not. 

Dropping ivory hands to her lap, the glow from the Moon - a fading crimson - stained them a blood color, but for once, Rose didn't notice. Holding the memory of that camping trip to her heart, like a talisman, she fell into oblivion.

If anyone had told her that she was still able to have sweet dreams, she would have called them a liar to their faces. In any case, both the memory of her dreams and her childhood had faded with the last of the morning twilight. The sunlight streaming woke her, and the woman walked out of the small inn that she had slept in without turning back. Another day, another unshed tear.

Perhaps she was still human after all - even if only in those rare sweet dreams.

A/N: Yes, it's ANOTHER Rose short. So sue me, she's my favorite character, ever. Blame Tori. Or my muse. Whatever. 

At least it wasn't total WAFF this time. ^_^;;; Nor total angst. 


End file.
